Henry Moore

Henry Spencer Moore "Companion of Honour", "Fellow of the British Academy" (30 July 1898 - 31 August 1986) was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art.

His forms are usually abstractions of the human figure, typically depicting mother-and-child or reclining figures. Moore's works are usually suggestive of the female body, apart from a phase in the 1950s when he sculpted family groups. His forms are generally pierced or contain hollow spaces. Many interpreters liken the undulating form of his reclining figures to the landscape and hills of his birthplace Yorkshire.

Moore was born in Castleford, the son of a coal miner. He became well-known through his carved marble and larger-scale abstract cast bronze sculptures, and was instrumental in introducing a particular form of Modernism to the United Kingdom. His ability in later life to fulfill large-scale commissions made him exceptionally wealthy.

Reclining Figure, fibreglass cast, 1938

"The observation of nature is part of an artist's life, it enlarges his form [and] knowledge, keeps him fresh and from working only by formula, and feeds inspiration." ~ Henry Moore 

Jacob Epstein

"From about 1910 to 1930 Jacob Epstein was the best artist working in England, and he defended most nobly the repeated assaults of philistinism. He started as a master of style; he ended as a master of truth. Looking back on his work it is incredible that he was once insulted and abused." ~ Lord Clark

Sir Jacob Epstein (Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire KBE) (10 November 1880 - 19 August 1959) was an American-born British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British citizen in 1911. He often produced controversial works which challenged taboos on what was appropriate subject matter for public artworks. He also made paintings and drawings, and often exhibited his work.

The Rock Drill, 1913 - 1914

Gabo/Pevsner

We begin with...

Naum Gabo born Naum Neema Pevsner in Russia in 1890. He adopted the name Gabo for his work in 1915. He died in Connecticut, USA, in 1977.

In 1920 Gabo wrote the Realistic Manifesto, an expression of the aims and philosophy behind his art, which was signed by Antoine and was posted on the streets of Moscow.  In 1922 Gabo left Russia for Berlin, to exhibit in the Erste Russische Kunstaustellung (The First Russian Art Exhibition) at Van Diemen Galerie.  He did not return to Russia until he visited his remaining family in 1962, but he did live and work in Berlin until 1932, making constructed sculptures and a number of architectural projects.


      Gabo, is in fact, one of the most important sculptors of the 20th Century, in my opinion.  His work transcended the original boundaries set by traditional sculpture, two dimensional art and The Futurists.

Linear Construction in Space No 2, 1949

"This new awakening of the arts is not merely a fashion but has its basis in the psychological, economic and social needs of the moment" ~ Gabo on constructive art.

Gabo uses glass, painted brass, steel and plastic on a black painted wooden base for his "Construction in Space" it looks like a piece of architecture.  It also has a strong sense of vertical movement and/or spacial imagination.